APN's daily news review from Israel
Friday April 17, 2015
Quote of the day:
"The European consumer will not understand the differences and their psychological response might be to
avoid Israeli products."
--Israeli Foreign Ministry officials explain why they oppose EU labeling of settlement products.**
Front Page:
Haaretz
- 16 EU foreign ministers call to label settlement products
- One of the injured by car hit in Jerusalem dies
- Slow coalition negotiations and in the opposition it has become interesting: A small note reveals what the person who was Lapid’s deputy thinks about him // Yossi Verter
- Married flight commander moved in with another woman – IDF increased his allowance to divide it between the two women
- High Court: Israel can confiscate Palestinian property in Jerusalem, but only with the Attorney General’s approval
- (Chief Justice) Grunis’ final chord: Counterrevolution to constitutional revolution // Aeyal Gross
- Instead of giving guardianship to rule people’s lives, court prefers model of cooperation // Or Kashti
- Ein Gedi dilemma: In order to save the lifeline in the area of the sinkholes, it appears there is no alternative but to harm the nature preserve
Yedioth Ahronoth
- Murdered at the bus station
- Singing to you, my brother – Yedioth brought together the bereaved siblings of soldiers killed in Operation Protective Edge to record together singing new song
- Number of (security forces) who fell in Israeli campaigns: 23,320
- “You are in my head all day” – Yedioth reveals love emails written by female officer to senior officer, who she later claimed raped her
- Obama in the closed room // Nahum Barnea writes that Obama warns that US blind support of Israel won’t be forever and wonders why Israel expects the US to make a veto against itself
- War loot // Sima Kadmon on coalition negotiations
- Peres is in love – Former president is first to join Yedioth project for Independence Day: take photo of yourself with sign that says why you love Israel
Maariv Weekend (Hebrew links only)
- “Shalom Yochai was murdered in a heinous attack”
- (Former military attorney general) Mandelblit demands: Clear my name (in Harpaz affair) – Battle began over next Attorney General
- Coalition negotiations: Netanyahu to meet with Lieberman today
- The modular plan // Ben Caspit writes that Netanyahu wants 18 ministers in next government, as per law, which would keep Habayit Hayehudi’s Ayelet Shaked out
- Living and free in the death camp – Holocaust Day commemorated yesterday also in ‘March of Life’ in Poland
- (Former Commissioner of Insurance in Finance Ministry) Prof. Oded Sarig to police: Threats to kill me because I joined Migdal Insurance Co.
- 2.5 billion reasons – How Jews in the US can stop the agreement with Iran // Caroline Glick writes that Jews must condition financial support for Clinton's campaign on her opposition to the deal
- Our bereavement: Girlfriends and wives of fallen of Operation Protective Edge on Holocaust Remembrance Day
Israel Hayom
- Suspicion: The incident in which 2 people were run over by a car – terror attack
- In memory of the 23,320 (security forces) who fell
- Pre-school children returned home with yellow Jewish star patches
- Anger in Israel: Call to mark settlement products – stain on Europe
- Negotiations for a government: Netanyahu to meet Lieberman today
News Summary:
Rising suspicion that a car accident that killed a pedestrian may have been a terror attack, ceremonies for Holocaust Remembrance Day (Maariv reported that Chairman of the Joint List, Ayman Oudeh, attended the state ceremony along with three other Arab MKs, including the firebrand Haneen Zouebi), stories of heroism in memory of security forces who fell throughout the years, and the stalling government coalition negotiations were the top stories of the Friday Hebrew newspapers. The papers also reported that 16 EU foreign ministers called for labeling settlers products and that some Israeli toddlers were made to wear yellow Stars of David on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
After interrogating E. Jerusalem driver Khaled Koutineh, Israeli police believe it is “likely” he intentionally drove into two Jewish Israelis at a bus stop on the French Hill (Jewish neighborhood settlement in E. Jerusalem), killing one. Koutineh’s lawyer told the court it was a normal traffic accident: due to the heavy rainfall, Koutineh lost control of the vehicle. Koutineh was driving with a passenger and both were lightly injured. Only Haaretz noted that three other people were injured by cars across the country Wednesday. (Also one pedestrian died in Hadera Wednesday from being hit by a car, and three other pedestrians were severely injured in Jerusalem by vehicles in the last week. (Hebrew links.) [Note: Haaretz’s Amira Hass has written extensively about how, unlike their Jewish counterparts, offending Arabs drivers are deemed terrorists when they hit Jewish citizens. That said, recently there has been a string of car ramming attacks by Palestinian residents of the city against Jewish residents of the city. In some of them, the parents of the driver insisted it was an accident.
**Haaretz+ led with the news that 16 out of 28 foreign ministers - including France and Britain signed a letter saying that Europeans must not be 'misled by false information,' and must be aware if the origin of goods is from over the Green Line, i.e. in the West Bank. The letter to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini asked her to push forward the process of labeling goods produced in Israeli settlements that are sold in grocery chains across the continent. Senior officials in the Israeli foreign ministry harshly criticized the letter and expressed fear that "The European consumer will not understand the differences and their psychological response might be to avoid Israeli products." In Yedioth, the report was only a small article. Maariv did not even report on it in print, only online. Maariv reported that Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid spoke to Mogherini and called the EU labeling of settlement products a “stain on all of Europe.” Lapid said it was “a de facto boycott on Israel. There is no difference between products manufactured over the Green Line and within the Green Line. This is an irresponsible call that potentially could wreak havoc on the Israeli economy. The State of Israel must fight to prevent this dangerous process.”
Barely mentioned in this week’s news was that two suspects confessed to arson at the Jerusalem Yad B'Yad Jewish-Arab school, but in a plea bargain, the charges of racism were dropped.
Rising suspicion that a car accident that killed a pedestrian may have been a terror attack, ceremonies for Holocaust Remembrance Day (Maariv reported that Chairman of the Joint List, Ayman Oudeh, attended the state ceremony along with three other Arab MKs, including the firebrand Haneen Zouebi), stories of heroism in memory of security forces who fell throughout the years, and the stalling government coalition negotiations were the top stories of the Friday Hebrew newspapers. The papers also reported that 16 EU foreign ministers called for labeling settlers products and that some Israeli toddlers were made to wear yellow Stars of David on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
After interrogating E. Jerusalem driver Khaled Koutineh, Israeli police believe it is “likely” he intentionally drove into two Jewish Israelis at a bus stop on the French Hill (Jewish neighborhood settlement in E. Jerusalem), killing one. Koutineh’s lawyer told the court it was a normal traffic accident: due to the heavy rainfall, Koutineh lost control of the vehicle. Koutineh was driving with a passenger and both were lightly injured. Only Haaretz noted that three other people were injured by cars across the country Wednesday. (Also one pedestrian died in Hadera Wednesday from being hit by a car, and three other pedestrians were severely injured in Jerusalem by vehicles in the last week. (Hebrew links.) [Note: Haaretz’s Amira Hass has written extensively about how, unlike their Jewish counterparts, offending Arabs drivers are deemed terrorists when they hit Jewish citizens. That said, recently there has been a string of car ramming attacks by Palestinian residents of the city against Jewish residents of the city. In some of them, the parents of the driver insisted it was an accident.
**Haaretz+ led with the news that 16 out of 28 foreign ministers - including France and Britain signed a letter saying that Europeans must not be 'misled by false information,' and must be aware if the origin of goods is from over the Green Line, i.e. in the West Bank. The letter to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini asked her to push forward the process of labeling goods produced in Israeli settlements that are sold in grocery chains across the continent. Senior officials in the Israeli foreign ministry harshly criticized the letter and expressed fear that "The European consumer will not understand the differences and their psychological response might be to avoid Israeli products." In Yedioth, the report was only a small article. Maariv did not even report on it in print, only online. Maariv reported that Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid spoke to Mogherini and called the EU labeling of settlement products a “stain on all of Europe.” Lapid said it was “a de facto boycott on Israel. There is no difference between products manufactured over the Green Line and within the Green Line. This is an irresponsible call that potentially could wreak havoc on the Israeli economy. The State of Israel must fight to prevent this dangerous process.”
Barely mentioned in this week’s news was that two suspects confessed to arson at the Jerusalem Yad B'Yad Jewish-Arab school, but in a plea bargain, the charges of racism were dropped.
Prepared for APN by Orly Halpern, independent freelance journalist based in Jerusalem.